The crew of the Aleutian Beauty caught a whale of a fish longlining in the Bering Sea early this summer.

Karl Rasmussen sent us this photo of a blackcod he hauled over the rail.

Unfortunately, the boat's scale was on the fritz, so the best they could do was guess at the weight (60-70 pounds?), but they clocked the size at just shy of 51 inches.

Alaska Department of Fish & Game says blackcod "have been recorded to reach sizes of 44 inches but are typically less than 34 inches in length."

"When it came to the rail I didn't know what it was," Rasmussen says. "I was a half second away from shaking it off the hook. Thank god I didn't."

Rasmussen is reportedly off the Bering Sea detail and has moved on to Bristol Bay. Up next: record sockeye? May you bring good fortune to your next season, Karl!

Do you have pics of mega catches? Send them to [email protected]

Jessica Hathaway is the former editor in chief of National Fisherman.

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